Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

Prof. Randy Pausch's last lecture

Prof. Randy Pausch's of CMU was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Given below is his inspiring "last lecture" video. Worth watching...

To get the complete transcript of the video, please click here. The video is listed at the CMU website @ http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/multimedia/randy-pausch-lecture.shtml

Given below are some of his quotes picked from the video.

In one practice, my Football coach - Jim Graham - just rode me all practice. He was constantly criticizing me 'You’re doing this wrong, you’re doing this wrong, go back and do it again, you owe me, you’re doing push-ups after practice'. And when it was all over, one of the other assistant coaches came over and said, yeah, Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn’t he? I said, yeah. He said, that’s a good thing. He said, 'when you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up'. And that’s a lesson that stuck with me my whole life. Is that when you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.

Jon Snoddy: When you’re pissed off at somebody and you’re angry at them, you just haven’t given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they’ll almost always impress you.

I called up Andy Van Dam - my mentor - and said, "Andy, I just gave a two-week assignment, and they came back and did stuff that if I had given them a whole semester I would have given them all As. What do I do?" Andy thought for a minute and he said, you go back into class tomorrow and you look them in the eye and you say, “Guys, that was pretty good, but I know you can do better.” And that was exactly the right advice. Because what he said was, you obviously don’t know where the bar should be, and you’re only going to do them a disservice by putting it anywhere.

If you’re going to do anything "pioneering" you will get arrows in the back, and you just have to put up with it. I mean everything that could go wrong will go wrong.

I was quite an arrogant young man. Andy, my mentor, once put his arm around my shoulders and said, "Randy, it’s such a shame that people perceive you as so arrogant. Because it’s going to limit what you’re going to be able to accomplish in life. What a hell of a way to word “you’re being a jerk.”

Syl: "It took me a long time but I’ve finally figured it out. When it comes to men that are romantically interested in you, it’s really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do. It’s that simple. It’s that easy."

Get a feedback loop and listen to it. Your feedback loop can be a dorky spreadsheet thing I did, or it can just be one great man who tells you what you need to hear. The hard part is the listening to it. Anybody can get chewed out. It’s the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the real reason is… We’ve all heard that. When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.

It is never too late to chase your dreams

Check this video of Jack Reeve the tap dancer...

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Paul Pott's Magic

This is called drama in life - drama in REAL life: Paul Potts - a person with a humble background, who lacks self confidence, who was bullied in childhood days, who worked in The Carphone Warehouse - performs opera and stuns the audience and judges with his vocal ability to get a standing ovation from them...

Do you know what made him tick? He concentrated on his strong point - his music - and nothing else! That made the difference!

Watch the video. Take a note of the judges' rolling their eyes when Paul expresses his wish to sing opera (Nessun Dorma)... and then their jaws dropping when Paul starts singing. Also checkout the standing ovation and incessant claps he gets.

Shabana's Advice

Liked this word of wisdom from Shabana Azmi : "I want to tell you something that I have learned from my life. When you participate in a competition, you have to play to win. There can be no second best. You need to develop the killer instinct".

Reminded me of my old philosophy: "Trying" is a waste of time if you won't succeed.

Click here to see the video. The advice comes towards the end.

Fastest Man on No Legs

I could never imagine authorities checking an amputee to verify if he/she has an 'unfair advantage' over 'normal people'. With his determination, Oscar Pistorius, just forced the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to do that unimaginable. Click here to read more.

Result of Initiative

Some years ago, three brothers left the farm to work in the city. They were all hired by the same company at the same pay. Three years later, Jim was being paid $500 a month, Frank was receiving $1,000, but George was now making $1,500.

Their father decided to visit the employer. He listened to the confused father and said, " I will let the boys explain for themselves."

Jim was summoned to the supervisor's office and was told, "Jim, I understand the Far East Importers has just brought in a large transport plane loaded with Japanese import goods. Will you please go over to the airport and get a cargo inventory?"

Three minutes later, Jim returned to the office. "The cargo was one thousand bolts of Japanese silk," Jim reported. "I got the information over the telephone from a member of the crew."

When Jim left, Frank, the $1,000 a month brother, was called. "Frank," said the supervisor, "I wish you'd go out to the airport and get an inventory of the cargo plane which was just brought in by Far East Importers."

An hour later, Frank was back in the office with a list showing that the plane carried 1,000 bolts of Japanese silk, 500 transistor radios, and 1,000 hand painted bamboo trays.

George, the $1,500 a month brother, was given identical instructions. Working hours were over when he finally returned.

"The transport plane carried one thousand bolts of Japanese silk," he began. "It was on sale at sixty dollars a bolt, so I took a two-day option on the whole lot.

I have wired a designer in New York offering the silk at seventy-five dollars a bolt. I expect to have the order tomorrow. I also found five hundred transistor radios, which I sold over the telephone at a profit of $2.30 each.

There were a thousand bamboo trays, but they were of poor quality, so I didn't try to do anything with them."

When George left the office, the employer smiled. " You probably noticed," he said, "that Jim doesn't do what he's told, Frank does only what he'd told, but George does without being told."

Another Eagle Story...

1. Eagles fly alone at a high altitude and not with sparrows or mix with other smaller birds. Birds of a feather flock together. No other bird goes to the height of the eagle. Eagles fly with eagles. Never in a flock. Even when Moses (Old Testament Bible) went to commune with God on the mountain‚ he left the crowd at the foothills. Stay away from sparrows and ravens. Eagles fly with eagles.

2. Eagles have strong vision‚ which focuses up to 5 kms from the air. When an eagle sites prey - even a rodent from this distance‚ he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter the obstacle‚ the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not eat dead things. He feeds on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals but not eagles. Steer clear of outdated and old information. Do your research well always.

4. The Eagle is the only bird that loves the storm. When clouds gather‚ the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the wings of the storm to rise and is pushed up higher. Once it finds the wing of the storm‚ the eagle stops flapping and uses the pressure of the raging storm to soar the clouds and glide. This gives the eagle an opportunity to rest its wings. In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees. We can use the storms of our lives (obstacles‚ trouble‚ etc) to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.

5. The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate‚ she flies down to earth with the male pursing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her‚ she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls‚ the faster he chases until he reaches it and has to catch it before it falls to the ground‚ then bring it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a much higher altitude pursued by the male until she perceives it high enough‚ and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours‚ with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of picking the twig which shows commitment‚ then and only then‚ will she allow him to mate with her! Whether in private life or in business‚ one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

6. Eagles prepare for training . When about to lay eggs‚ the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach; the male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff‚ then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He flies back to earth picks thorns and lays them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns‚ and then flies back to pick rugs to put on the grass. When this first layering is complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns‚ lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass & rugs, and lays them on top of the thorns‚ then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders. Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects them; he builds the nest and hunts. During the time of training the young ones to fly‚ the mother eagle throws the eaglets out of the nest and because they are scared‚ they jump into the nest again. Next‚ she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest‚ leaving the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets jump into the nest again‚ they are pricked by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next‚ mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air. As they shriek in fear‚ father eagle flies out and picks them up on his back before they fall‚ and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly and not fall at such a fast rate. The father and mother eagle supports them with their wings. The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; The preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners' leads to success.

The being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life‚ not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow‚ get out of the nest and love on. We may not know it but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns. The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper. Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.

7. When the Eagle grows old‚ his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die‚ he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there‚ he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers‚ then he can come out. We occasionally need to shed off old habits and items that burden us without adding to our lives.

Ace Archer?

Checkout Lilia Stepanova's archer act from "America's Got Talent" - an act that would impress Arjuna. You will see her doing a Sagittarius.

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An extra degree

An extra degree of temperature can generate steam that powers locomotives. Without that extra degree water is just "hot" water. An extra degree can make all the deference. One extra degree of effort in life seperates good from the great! Strive for that extra degree...

Those who scripted the inspirational "Race" have come up with "An extra degree". Click here to watch it.

Inspire... ! Once again...

If the chips are down and you need an inspirational fillip, go to The-Race-Movie.com. If you feel that is not enough go here and here.

Another Barbara who inspires others...

Is there something in the name Barbara? This Barbara too... just.... INSPIRES! Barbara Geurra, you are simply an amazing woman.

Age doesn't matter

Whenever I think that I'm getting too old to do a few stuffs in my life, I go and watch this video clip. That keeps me away from being senile. Barbara you inspire!!